Marble runway



Oct. 16, 1951 R BARNHART .2,57l,521

MARBLE RUNWAY Filed June 6, 1950 I FIG. 3 f Z 9 INVENTOR 4 I RICHARD L.BARNHART,

BY 6M $6M ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 16, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I I 2,571,521 I V i MARBLE RUNWAY Richard L. Barnhart, Elizabethtown, Pa. Application June 6, 1950, Serial No. 166,490

This invention relates to a marble runway of the class which permits visual inspection of a vide such a marble runway which serves both as 3 an educational device as well as an amusement device, due to being provided with control means which may be set in various positions to establish a plurality of difierent paths of travel for a marble through said device.

More specifically, it is an object to provide such a runway having a plurality of relatively intersecting inclined passages or channels, wherein a valve or switch disposed at an intersection of said channels may cause the ball or marble either to pass straight across said intersection and continue in the same channel or to transfer to an intersecting channel.

It is a further object to provide in such a marble runway a novel arrangement embodying nected channel portions under the control of the several valves, and caused to emerge from any of a plurality of outlet openings. "A still further object resides in the provision of a novel rotary valve or switch which is selectively operable to obstruct or block either of a pair of marble passages opening downwardly from its respective intersection, while providing a pathway for a marble between the unblocked downwardly opening passage anda passage opening into said intersection from above. Also, the in- 5 Claims. (01. 46-43) ferred embodiment of the invention, portions of several of the valves being broken away to show their interior construction;

Figure 2, a side or edge elevation thereof; and,

Figure 3, a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1,.

looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now in detail to the accompanying drawings, the preferred embodiment of the invention therein illustrated comprises a rigid board or backing I which is normally supported in a substantially upright or vertical plane, as by means of a usual base 2 secured to its lower end edge.- The board I and base 2 may be formed of wood or other suitable material.

Formed in the front face'of the board I are a plurality of relatively intersecting inclined channels or passages, which may include a series of inclined relatively vertically spaced channels Ia having their lower ends respectively opening outwardly through one side edge of the board, as at Ib, and a series of relatively oppositely inclined channels or passages Ic having their lower ends respectively opening outwardly through the op- -posite side edge of the board, as at Id.

vention comprises various improved details of construction of such a switch or valve and its assembly with the runway construction.

In this application I show and describe only I the preferred embodiment of my invention, simply by way of illustration of the practice thereof as by law required. However I recognize that my invention is capable of other and different embodiments and that the several details thereof may be modified in various ways, all without departing from my invention. Accordingly, the

- drawings and description herein are to be conrunway constructed in accordance with the pre- It will be noted that the uppermost channels Ia and lo intersect each other and the board is provided with a marble inlet channel Ie, preferably through its upper edge, communicating with the intersection of said uppermost channels.

In this arrangement, each channel ,of each series intersects and provides a downwardly inclined passage between at least two of the channels or'passages of the other series, whereby a ball or marble inserted in the inlet channel Ie may find a constantly downwardly inclined path to any one of the various outwardly opening mouths oroutlet openings lb or Id of the respective channels.

Secured over the front face of the board I, as by screws 3, is a rigid transparent cover plate I which is preferably formed of Plexiglas or other non-shatterable material or transparent plastic, though it may be of glass, isinglass or other conventional material.

Such a cover plate 4 closes the open fronts of the respective runway channels Ia and I0 to therewith define a series of tubular runway passa'ges or channels, but permits ready visual inspection of the interior of said passages and any object passing therethrough.

At any of the various intersections of channels Ia and I0 there may be disposed a valve 5 operable'to selectively place either of the channels Ia or Ic below said intersection in communication with any channel or channels opening thereinto from above. In the preferred embodiment of the invention I prefer to dispose such a valve at each of the various intersections, as in Figure 1. With this arrangement, the valves 5 may be set or positioned to selectively direct a marble from the inlet passage le to any desired outlet opening lb or Id, and in the case of each but the uppermost outlet openings lb, ld, more than one constantly downwardly inclined path may be established between the said inlet passage la and each of the several outlet openings.

The valves 5 are of the rotary type, each comprising cylindrical bearing portions 5a and 5b rotatably journalled in openings in the :cover plate 4 and board I respectively, at a location coincident with one of the channel-intersections. The axis of each said valve .or switch 5-is.equidistant from, and preferably coincident with the point at which the projections of the lower or bottom faces of the adjacent channels la and le intersect, all "as shown .in.Figur.es L1 and 3. :Extending through each saidvalve :5 :transversely to the axis thereof is .a'passageic'disposed for .=selective alignmentwitheither of the associated :.channels la or lc to bridgethe intersectionibetween the aligned'portionsof either ofrsaidchannels and establish communication therebetween .across the intersection, while also permitting communication between said passage 5c.arid'any other channels "opening into its 'respectiveintersectionfrom above.

Preferably the passage 50 is formed merely'by cuttingaway a semi-cylindricalrsegment between the bearing portions 5a and 5b of reach valve 5,

whereby the flat bottom 5c of 'thepassa'ge thus formed extends diametrically of :the valve and may be rotated into 'alignmentwith the'bottom side of eitherof the'channels la or lccontrolled by said valve.

The front end of each said valve *5 projects exteriorly of the cover plate 4 to function as a manual control knob or dial for the valve. Preferably such adial'l5f is of greater'diameter'than the valve Sito-engage'the cover plate "4 and pre- "vent rearward axial displacement of the valve.

If desired, the dial 5) may be provided *wi'tha combined position'indica'tor' and handle 59 in :the form of a preferably integral bar extending diametrically in the same direction as the bottom 7 5e of the valve'passage 5c, it being obvious-that I such a bar 'will afford a ready visual indication of the rotary position'of the valve. However, such an indicatorisnot essentiaL'sin'ce'thetransparent cover plate! will permit visual ascertainment of the rotational position 'Df the valve passage 50.

Such a valve 5 may readily be formed of'woo'd, as well as other conventional materials, andinserted into position through the front of the board, whereupon it may beheld against 'forward displacement by means such as a metal disc or plate 8 secured to its axially presented rear end by screws 9, the disc 8 being of greater diameter than the valve 5 and being adapted to abut against the rear face of the board "I to prevent forward displacement or withdrawal of the valve. Such an arrangement obviously simplifies the assembling and dismounting of the valves 5.

The invention is particularly adapted for use as an amusement and educational device by 'children. In its use, which is believed to beapparent from the foregoing description, the object is'to so position thevarious valves '5 (by manual manipulation of their respective handles 59') as to -cause a marble "dropped into the inlet passage Is to emerge through a preselected outlet opening lb or Id.

By way of illustration of this, in Figure 1 I have illustrated the various valves 5 arranged to cause passage of a marble from the inlet passage le to the lowermost outlet opening ld along the zig-zag path indicated by the arrows. Obviously each valve 5 may be set or rotated to a ,position wherein it will cause the marble either to continue its downward movement straight across the intersection in the same channel la or lc, or else to transfer to an intersecting channel and reverse its direction of travel.

:Young children in particular will derive a certain amount of beneficial mental exercise and mechanical skill from the reasoning and manipudating required in so using the invention, and also will be entertained by witnessing the passage of marbles along the various paths so provided.

In the event any of the passages or valves should become clogged by foreign'objects, asrmay be'anticipated from time to time in such achiliis device, the cover plate 4 and the several valves 5 may be readily removedin obvious manner to permit .removal of such foreign object or matter.

Having thus described my invention, Iiclaim:

l. A marble'runway comprising a rigid'board of rectangular shape and means supportingsame in a substantially vertical plane, the front face of said board being formed with-a series of inclined relatively verticallyspaced channelshaving their lower ends respectively opening outwardly through one side edge of said board, and a series of relatively oppositely inclined vertically spaced channels having their lower ends respectively opening outwardly through the opposite side edge of said board,'the uppermostrc'hannels of each series intersecting each-other,'a-marble inlet channel communicating-with the intersection of said uppermost channels, and 'a rigid transparent cover plate secured over thefront face of said board to closethe open frontsofr said channels, in combination with 'a plurality 'of valves respectively rotatably journalled through 0 said board and acover .plate at each of':the:intersections of said channels for selectively-control- :ling the passage of a marble tfrom each "said intersection to either of the channels extending downwardly therefrom.

2. A marble runway comprising a rigid'board and means supporting same in asubstantially vertical plane, the front faceof said board being provided with a series of inclinedrelativelyvertically spaced channels having their lower ends respectively opening through one side edge of said board, and a series of relatively oppositely inclined vertically spaced channels having'their lower ends respectively openingthroughthe opposite side edge o'f'said'board, each said channel of 'each'series intersecting-two or more channels of the other series, anda'rigid'transparentcover plate secured over'the front face of said board to close the open'fronts of said channelsyincombination with a plurality of valves, each rotatably iournalled through said board andcover plate at one of the intersections of said channels for selectively controlling the passage 1 of marbles through saidintersections'to either ofthe channel portions extending downwardly'from each.

3. A marble runway comprising a rigid upright board having a plurality of relatively intersecting inclined channels formed in the front thereof, said channels respectively extending through the sides of said board, a rigid "transparent 'cover plate secure'd over the front face 'o'f *safd'board and closing the fronts of said respective channels, and valves respectively rotatably journalled through said cover plate and said board at each of the intersections of said channels, said valves being manually rotatable to selectively control the passage of a marble from each said intersection to either of the channels extending downwardly therefrom.

4. A marble runway comprising a rigid upright board having a plurality of relatively angularly disposed inclined channels in its front face intersecting and crossing each other, a rigid transparent cover plate secured over the front face of said board and closing the fronts of said channels, and a valve rotatably journalled through said cover plate and board at each of the intersections of said channels, one end of said valve projecting externally of said cover plate for manual engagement, said valve being manually rotatable to selectively control the passage of a 20 marble through said intersections to either of the channel portions opening downwardly therefrom.

5. A marble runway comprising a rigid upright board having a pair of oppositely inclined channels in its front face intersecting and crossing each other, a rigid transparent cover plat secured over the front face of said board and closing the fronts of said channels, and a valve mounted for rotation in said intersection about an axis disposed perpendicularly to the front face of said board, said valve having a passage extending diametrically therethrough, a portion of said valve projecting externally through said cover plate for manual engagement, whereby said valve may be rotated to selectively align said valve passage with either of said channels.

RICHARD L. BARNHART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,011,266 Boynton Aug. 13, 1935 2,086,327 I-Iameetman July 6, 1937 2,102,807 Perks Dec. 21, 1937 

